Thanksgiving 2022

Thursday, November 24, 2022

Dale made the cranberry sauce at around 9:30 a.m. It's the item that makes the most sense to make ahead of dinner since it can just sit in the fridge. 

We follow the Nigella Lawson turkey recipe from her book Feast. It's on page. 

Dale gave the turkey a bath around 11:30. 

We pulled out the giblets and saved them for making the gravy. 

Post bath.

I dried the turkey off.

Between cleaning and food prep I'd check in on the parade once in a while. 

And sip on my Bloody Mary. 

Turkey was in the roaster just a little before 1:00.

Dale buttered it...

...and had it in the oven by 1:06. For the first half hour the oven was set at 4:00.

After the turkey was in the oven Dale had the giblets ready to boil then simmer. 

The turkey got basted with white wine after its first half hour in the oven. The oven temp was turned down to 350 and the turkey's next hour of baking. 

I got started on the sweet potato casserole at 1:50. The recipe I used is the same one I used last time. I drained the yams a little better this go-round. It turned out pretty well overall. Although I halved the recipe I didn't do so with all ingredients. Next time I'd recommend trying to be more precise overall. That said it still turned out pretty well.  

The turkey after an hour and a half in the oven...

...which is when we flipped it over. It went back in for another half hour. Upon removal we tented it with aluminum foil and let it rest for an hour before I cut it. I did the cutting which is my usual duty. I generally do a hack job but it all ends up okay. At some point I should look up the official way to do it. 

When the sweet potatoes were done we put them in the oven warmer until we were ready to serve up Dale's awesome Brussels sprouts. The Stove-Top stuffing was made right at the very end. Getting everything in serving dishes and on the table was quite busy but pain-free. 

Mom and Noel came over around 3 p.m. For hors d'oeuvres we had olives, pickled herring, crackers, and wasabi peas. Dinner was on the table at 4:37 p.m!

Mom brought an apple pie her friend Joanne made for her and Noel brought over a pumpkin pie from Mrs. Kowalski's. 

I had meant to make fruit salad but got distracted the last hour of prep. For next time I think the only things a might add would be corn and maybe dinner rolls. However, that said, what we had was more than enough. 

November's Here - Fall Golden Hour: Cocktails

Saturday, November 5, 2022

Took the above photo while walking home from school the day after Halloween. I guess this is a sign we're ready to move on to the next holiday. 

Out with Noel today for lunch. Afterward we of course stopped by the 2nd hand shops and they're starting to set Christmas stuff out. Personally I'd rather stick to one holiday at a time but I suppose  stores gotta make their money. 

Dale and I headed off to Kowalski's after my afternoon adventures with Noel. We picked up all the makings for a chicken pot pie and it's gonna be GOOD. Tonight's golden hour and dinner are to  celebrate going off Daylight Savings Time and going back on Central Standard Time. Not sure why  getting that one extra hour back feels so luxurious, but it does. Cocktail hour started at 5:30. 

The pot pie was assembled and in the oven by 6:30. 

Continued with cocktails and music while dinner was in the oven. 

Russian Tea Cakes

My friend Noel makes Russian Tea Cakes every Christmas just as her mother did and, I believe, as her grandmother did as well. Her grandma, who was of Czech descent, refused to call them Russian Tea Cakes because of what the Russians did to the Czech people. I believe the family still calls them pecan crisps or something like that. Pictured above are some of the actual cookies made by Noel. She sent some home with us after her most recent holiday fete.

Pumpkin Muffin

Out and about with my friend Noel yesterday. We stopped by Breadsmith and I picked up a pumpkin muffin for myself and a pumpkin scone for her. I just can't get enough of all things pumpkin.

St. Patrick's Day 2013

I had lunch with Noel yesterday at George and the Dragon and in honor of St. Patrick's Day I ordered the bangers and mash. I've never had this dish before and I found it to be very delicious. The sausage almost had the consistency of pate, but not quite. I looked the dish up online and some sources say it's British while some say it's Irish and some say it's both. Regardless, it was great. 

New Year's Eve 2012

Dale and I put together a grazing tray for New Year's Eve.  We set out shrimp, herring, apples, grapes, carrots, broccoli, brie with fig jelly, and crackers.  We drank champagne along with it and managed to get quite full.  For dessert we finished up a pumpkin roulade that we had originally brought to Noel's for her annual holiday fete. I mistakenly referred to it as a Buche de Noel.  I included her response with the above photo.

St. Patrick's Day 2012

Noel and I made a trip out to Afton yesterday and stopped by Squire House Gardens. The high was 80 degrees and buds were appearing on trees and shrubs. We had a lunch of corned beef and cabbage at Current. How appropriate for St. Patrick's Day.

Dale and I had our friend Eric over for dinner. Hamburgers, broccoli salad, and potato salad for dinner. Due to the pleasant weather, we had cocktails outside in the backyard . Now that doesn't happen very often on St. Patrick's Day!

Stacey Kent at the Dakota

Noel and I went to see Stacey Kent at the Dakota Jazz Club tonight. She sang Falling In Love Is Wonderful, Waters of March, What a Wonderful World and many others and of course sounded fabulous (as always). Noel and I both had our usual burger along with fries and bearnaise sauce. As I've said before I think the Dakota has one of the best burgers in town. Noel had a root beer float for dessert and I had chocolate gelato. It was a wonderful evening.

John Pizzarelli at the Dakota

Tonight Dale and I took Noel to see John Pizzarelli at the Dakota for her birthday. She loved the performance and so did we. Mr. Pizzarelli has a great report with the audience and sounded great as well. The three of us all had the hamburger with fries for dinner. The Dakota's burgers are, I think, the best in town. Their fries are incredible too especially with bernaise sauce. Absolutely delicious. I find the Dakota to be the most fun place in town to hear live music and their food is incredible.

Eating Out - Lizz Wright at the Dakota

I had the most incredibly cruddy day today. I'm so glad I had plans to see Lizz Wright tonight at the Dakota Jazz Club with my good friend Noel. Noel ordered some wine and I had a Bombay Sapphire Martini. We both had the house burger. The food is always fantastic there. Lizz Wright has one of the most beautiful voices I've ever heard and I'm not exaggerating. I'd listen to her sing the phone book. Anyway, great food, great music, great venue with a great friend. After a terrible day I feel renewed.

Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking

We celebrated my friend Noel's birthday today. My partner Dale and I joined her and her friend's Caroline and Stephen for brunch at a restaurant called A Rebours in the Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul. It was an absolutely gorgeous sunny spring morning so we ate outside. From the sidewalk there's a lovely view of Landmark Center and the Saint Paul Hotel. Anyway, Dale and I gave her a copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. It's been on her wish list on Amazon.com forever and with her love of so many things French I thought it would make the perfect gift. I told her how much I love my copy of it although I have to admit that my love of this book is rather bizarre since I never make anything from it - too hard and time consuming! She agreed but, remembering her mother's copy, noted that just reading it is a pleasure. I had to agree. There's also just something about the weight of it when you hold it in your hands (I have the hardcover) and the look of it (it's the 40th Anniversary Edition with a red dust jacket that's covered with those little French flower things) that adds to the enjoyment of the experience of reading it. We all noted that the French tend to view eating as a pleasureable experience while here in the States we tend to view eating as more utilitarian. I think one of the things that comes out of Mastering the Art of French Cooking is that the process of making food should be just as pleasureable as eating it.

Part of what Dale and I like most about making our Sunday dinners is the act of preparing the meal. It's a time to wind down from the day and the previous week and set the tone for the coming one. If you're looking for a way to deal with the Sunday Blues, a relaxed cooking session works wonders. We usually start by pouring drinks for ourselves. Dale is a great lover of red wine. I am too but I have a penchant for stronger booze and when faced with a choice will usually choose a Bombay Sapphire martini over wine. (I love the kick, baby!) Anyway, having a drink before and while making dinner is fun and it also slows the whole process down just a tad which is definitely not a bad thing in our over-hurried lives.

Tonight we're trying a new beef stroganoff recipe. The one we usually use is from Natalie Haughton's The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever. We've always had great results with this recipe. Today we thought we'd try a new one that's from Ms. Houghton's 365 Easy One Dish Meals. Due to brunch today we weren't able to come home right away after church to turn on the Crock-Pot at the time needed so it would be done at 7:00 p.m. The untried recipe does not require the Crock-Pot. Next time I post I'll let you know how it turns out...

Notes:

Wine: Dale is currently loving a wine called La Vieille Ferme. He says it's organic and that it tastes fabulous.

Martini: I measure out the Bombay Sapphire gin by filling a martini glass with it and then dump it into a shaker. I pour a little dry vermouth in the glass and swoosh it around and then dump that into the the shaker also. I know some folks can't stand the idea of vermouth but to a purist(which I am) it is part of the drink so I always include it. Not so much into olives in the drink but love having sun dried tomato stuffed olives on the side. Anyway, I usually shake the drink until I can't take the coldness of the shaker. I heard once (can't remember where) that a martini should be shaken in waltz time. I tried it and now it's a habit. When done, I pour it back in to a martini glass. (I try to remember to stick a martini glass already lined with vermouth in the freezer to get it cold but I haven't been good about remembering to do this.)